Cougar's a rare treat

Jan 19 2009 Peter Hayward

Cougar's a rare treat

WHILE it never reached the iconic status of the old Capri, the Ford Cougar is an easy driving and rare coupe that has many admirers.

It only sold in fairly small numbers and apart from a razor-edged, good looking shape it was not perhaps special enough to make the grade.

The Cougar was built in the USA using the Mondeo chassis and engines but was only ever a niche model here.

However, it's easy to drive with good performance, handling and refinement and the Mondeo underpinnings mean it will always be easy to repair.

It's rarer and cheaper than the now very common BMW and Mercedes coupes, so if you want to stand out from the crowd, this could be the car.

There are two engines - a 2.0-litre unit with 128bhp or a very smooth 2.5-litre V6 with 168bhp, both with a five speed gearbox.

Interior

The interior is not as well designed as some and the seats could have a little more side support, but the boot is bigger than other coupes and the rear seats fold to give more space.

Rear legroom is better than most and there's a good level of equipment including air con, power steering, anti-lock brakes, electric windows and mirrors and two airbags.

FAST FACTS

Ford Cougar 2.0

Price : Pay £1,500 for a '01 Y-reg, £2,000 for an '02 52-reg. V6 models are about £200 more and automatics more again.

Mechanical : 128bhp, 1,998cc, 4cyl petrol engine driving front wheels via 5spd manual gearbox

Max speed : 130mph

0-62mph : 9.6 secs

Combined mpg : 33

Insurance group : 11

Marks : 8/10

Main rival : BMW 3 Coupe